


painting flowers

by buckfxckbarnes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Artist Steve Rogers, High School AU, Jock Bucky Barnes, M/M, Stucky - Freeform, baseball player!bucky, bucky is gay and in love with steve, bucky's a catcher, idk where this is going, not preserum steve, steve is bi and has never been in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-03-20 16:16:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18996139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckfxckbarnes/pseuds/buckfxckbarnes
Summary: steve has a month to write his final song for his music class. that seems like a lot of time, but it really isn't for a high school student assigned all his final projects the same week.the high school's baseball team made it to the championships. bucky, being the catcher, is busy with practice and improving to beat their rivals. he's not focused on the english project, and he definitely has not been zoning out in class, daydreaming about steve rogers.idk where this is gonna go but yeah.





	1. "it's a date, rogers"

steve’s song wasn’t working. he couldn’t think of words that flowed right together. he only had a month left to finish it, and he was afraid it wouldn’t be done in time. maybe he could get an extension. 

now, a month may seem like ample time, but, for steve at least, it wasn’t. he has plenty of other shit to do. he’s in an AP english class that has a ten page paper due next week (which he hadn’t even looked at the rubric for), his last art project is due the week after, he has to finish the book his paper is on, and this stupid song has him stuck.

not to mention, he has a life, too. his friends are constantly asking for him to hang out with them, go to parties on friday nights, but steve just ‘doesn’t have the time’ he tells them. he loves music; he loves creating music, but this just wasn’t working. 

a love song. that’s all his teacher said. he has a month to write a love song, and there’s one thing about steve: he’s never been in love. peggy told him what love was like, but from her perspective. she says it’s all “warm and fuzzy” and “your heart goes a mile a minute and you can’t get them out of your head,” but steve doesn’t think he really believes all that bullshit. it sounds like a movie to him. a fantasy. some made up story. 

love, to steve’s knowledge, is this very flawed thing. it sucks quite terribly. that’s what he takes away from it. from seeing the utter heartbreak his friends have gone through, he has this huge grudge held against the concept of love. 

that, and his favorite tv show fails horribly to acknowledge the biggest love story of them all. dean and cas have been in love for ten years, dammit. but that’s besides the point. 

instead of pining over his unwritten love song, steve decided to work on his final art project. it has something to do with flowers, but he’s not sure what yet.  
___________________

a smile lit up bucky’s face as he rounded third, coming in on home. he was the winning run. his cleats dug into the dirt firmly, his step never stuttering. the ball was coming in, he sensed it. he heard the smack of the cowhide against the smooth, worn leather of the catcher’s mitt. that only made him grin more. 

the catcher, rumlow, number 17, thought he had barnes. he crouched, ready to swipe, getting bucky out when he slid into home, but what he wasn’t expecting was for barnes, number 16, to dive over him, his hand catching home, and the ump calling safe. 

game over. line up. shake hands. be good sports. 

atta boy, buck. nice job, buck. way to get that last run, buck. did you see rumlow’s face, buck? he looked ready to kill someone, buck.  
all bucky could do was glow in the victory. this win took them to the championships. he scanned through the crowd, hoping to see a head of blond hair cheering for him and the team, but there was no sight of the boy james buchanan barnes was in love with. he doesn’t know why he expects him to be there, he’s never said a word to the guy before. and he’s an art kid, why would he go to a sporting event? maybe steve rogers would be at the championship game. he saw steve’s friend peggy at some games. maybe she’ll drag him to the championship.

english class was rough for bucky. he hardly ever paid attention, and could you really blame him? from where he sat, he had a perfect view of steve’s side profile. and if he was ever caught staring, he could play it off as looking out the window.

steve was drawing something in his notebook, but bucky could tell he was listening to whatever the teacher was saying. he was wearing a fitted white t-shirt and his leather jacket with black skinny jeans and converse, one of his go-to looks bucky’s discovering. steve’s eyes came up to meet his own, and he froze for a moment before realizing everyone was looking at him.

“-are you listening? mr. barnes?” he snapped up to his teacher’s gaze. 

“oh-yeah. yes, mr. fury.” his face flushed. he risked a glance at steve, who was turning back to his notebook, chuckling. 

“now that you’re done ogling mr. rogers -”

“i wasn’t -” bucky started.

fury turned toward him, giving him the Look. “- you all have a ten page paper due in two weeks on wednesday. have it printed out and ready to be turned in at the start of class. i would suggest peer editing before the due date.” he wrote the due date in the corner of the chalkboard. “mr. barnes, why don’t you ask mr. rogers to be your editor, since you’re so fond of him.”

“no, i -” 

“i’d be more than willing, fury.” steve turned toward bucky, a cocky smirk gracing his face. bucky fell back in his desk defeated, his hand going up to cover his face. 

the bell sounded, but bucky stayed in his seat, still covering his face. his embarrassment. 

“see ya around, james.” steve knocked on his desk once in passing. 

fury was erasing something on the board when he spoke, the room empty besides bucky. “you’re going to be late for your next class, mr. barnes.”

bucky ignored the statement. “do you enjoy torturing me?”  
“i’m a teacher. of course i do.”

“why did you have to make it seem like i was starin’ at him?” 

“do you want to tell me you weren’t?” the teacher gave a pointed look. “and don’t try to pass it off as staring out the window. there’s nothing out there that’s more interesting than my lectures.”

“okay. maybe i was starin’ at him.”

“congratulations, mr. barnes. you’ve finally realized how obvious it is. every damn kid in this class sees how in love with rogers you are.”

bucky’s head was about to implode. “wait- does he know?” 

“of course not. it was obvious to everyone but him. and mildly uncomfortable, but mostly just annoying that he has yet to notice.” that soothed bucky’s nerves. “but after today, i wouldn’t be surprised if he noticed your staring more often and your lovey-dovey eyes you make in his direction.” the student’s heart rate increased rapidly. “now, get to class. i’ll give you a pass.” 

___________________

steve waited in the courtyard after school for bucky. he figured if he was going to be barnes’ editor and spend a good amount of time together, he may as well get the guy’s number. as he looked up from his phone, he caught sight of the baseball players, which barnes would definitely be in the middle of. steve began walking their way. hurrying up, he called out to bucky. 

“hey! barnes!” he waved his hand, a big, perfect smile planted on his face. bucky caught sight of the man calling his name, getting flushed and quickly bidding goodbye to his teammates.

“hey, steve. you can just call me bucky, ya know,” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to play it off as no big deal that he’s talking to the guy he’s been hopelessly in love with for the past four years. totally not a big deal.. 

“okay, buck,” he nicknames the nickname. that definitely didn’t erupt an enormous storm of butterflies in bucky’s stomach. “so, i figured, since we’re gon’ be hangin’ out to edit papers and stuff, i figured i’d get your number.”

steven grant rogers was asking him, james buchanan barnes, for his number. he’s going to pass out. 

“oh- uh, yeah. yeah, sure, sure.”smooth, bucky. he retrieved his phone from his pocket, unlocking it, opening his contacts and handing it to steve, realizing steve already had his held out to him.  
after steve typed for a few seconds, bucky wasn’t expecting steve to hold the phone up and take a selfie for his contact picture. “sorry, i have this thing with, uh, contact pictures. i always make sure my friends have good ones or they’ll fuck me over with it.” he laughed. 

bucky joined in the short laughter, and before he knew it, steve had his phone back and was taking a picture of him. “hey, wha’ was that for?” he already knew the answer. 

“your picture in my phone,” he looked down. “hey look! it’s actually a good one!” bucky feigned hurt as he looked at the photo. he was laughing, teeth showing and all, and the sun was hitting his eyes, turning them a greenish color. 

“well, wouldja look at that. you’re not a bad photographer if i do say so myself, rogers.”

“thanks. i, uh, used to wanna be a photographer, ya know?” 

bucky thought for a second. here it goes. “hey, maybe ya could take some pics at the championship game next friday.”

steve smiled. “that doesn’t sound half bad. i actually like baseball, a lot.”

“then why are ya nev’r at ‘ny games?” bucky cocked his head. 

“i haven’t really had the time, between art and music projects. but ya know what? you get me into the game for free and i’ll come make sure you look good in some pictures,” he stuck his hand out. “whaddaya say, barnes?”

the catcher grabbed the artist’s hand. “it’s a date, rogers.”


	2. "and, damn, number seven has such a nice ass"

"a date? you called it a date?" thor was absentmindedly throwing a baseball in the air while laying on bucky's bed. 

 

" _ yes. _ ' bucky was banging his head on is desk. 

 

"y'know, he prob'bly didn't take it that way," the blond reassured. "he prob'bly thought nothing of it." 

 

bucky stopped, resting his head against his desk, turning slightly to look at thor. "y'think so?" 

 

"i mean, yeah. the guy has everyone falling at his feet, yet he's never dated anyone," the ball hit his palm. "except that peggy girl that one summer, but she's a hardcore lesbian now." thor laughed, sitting up. "hey, maybe he has a small dick." 

 

the brunet picked his head up. "that's not plausible." nice use of a vocab word, buck. he walked over to his record player, dropping the needle in a random spot on his beatles'  _ 1 _ record. " _ ~make me feel alright~" a hard day's night. _ "steve most definitely has a big dick." he points. 

 

"with an ass like that? it wouldn't be fair." thor paused. "did you do the chem homework?"

 

"uh," bucky shuffled a few papers on his desk. "yep, here." he passed the papers to the pitcher. 

 

"thanks." the sound of a pencil moving signified thor started copying answers. 

 

"enough about my failure of a love life. how are you and bruce?" 

 

"good. great. our one year is next week." the blond was glowing.

 

bucky looked up at his calendar. "oh, yeah!" he pointed to a day. "i remember. i wrote it up here." the day had, in bucky's half cursive-half traditional handwriting, "thorbruce" written on it. 

 

thor and bruce were quite the pair. they're the epitome of opposites attract. bruce is the captain of the decathlon team, thor was the captain of the baseball team, and their differences only started there. but all that matters is that bruce loves thor and thor loves bruce. 

 

“we went to the pier yesterday ‘cause it was nice out, and i got bruce to go on the rollercoaster.” bucky started laughing. bruce _ hates  _ rollercoasters. “and the whole time-” thor wheezed. “the whole time, he - he was holding my hand in this  _ death grip _ an- and he was screaming-” tears were falling down the blond’s face now. “he kept going ‘shit fuck fuck oh shit’ and i was  _ pissing _ myself. i felt awful for laughing, but it was the funniest thing.” thor wiped the tears from his face. bucky was hunched over, wheezing. the way thor tried to soften his voice like bruce’s while also yelling that, holy fuck.

 

“ah, fuck.” bucky’s face hurt from laughing. “you guys ’re great.”

___________________

 

steve was sitting on the floor in his living room. his sketchpad was sitting in front of him. 

 

he was just staring. well, that’s what it looked like anyway. in his head, he was trying to figure out what his final piece was going to be, while also thinking of a topic for his paper,  _ and _ trying to get an idea for his song.

 

his mind was going a thousand miles an hour, but  _ he _ was sitting still. he decided to start working on his paper. him and bucky were meeting up this weekend to go over what each has so far. 

 

now moved to the desk in his room, steve just started writing. about what? he didn’t really know. he was just letting words hit the paper in front of him. 

 

a tear fell onto the page. then another. and another, and steve dropped his pencil. he looked at the words on the page and he hadn’t even realized he was writing about her. he hadn’t  _ meant  _ to. 

 

his mom passed away a few years ago. she was like steve’s best friend. they were really close. but he never talked about her or her death. not to anyone. not even peggy.

 

he guessed all those repressed emotions just came up and presented themselves on the page. more tears were forming in steve’s eyes, and he pushed his paper back. he folded his arms on his desk and laid his head on them. he let the tears come and the sobs rack his body. he cried for what felt like forever until he felt a hand on his back.

 

his bloodshot eyes met those of his fathers, and he stood just to collapse into his dad’s arms, just like he had done as a child. 

___________________

 

the weekend came quicker than bucky thought. he had nothing for steve to look at.  _ fuck _ . 

 

he still had a few hours until they were meeting, so, hypothetically, he could get something written. but he still didn’t know what he wanted to write about. 

 

he decided to write about baseball. it made sense. and steve likes baseball, so that’s a plus. he got a good four decently sized paragraphs in before he had to get ready to meet steve. bucky groaned, looking at the words in front of him. he felt superficial for just writing about something everyone knows about. just writing about the surface.  _ fuck it. _

 

bucky could write, he knew he could. he just waited until the last possible moment, and he knows steve will be able to tell. because steve’s smart like that. 

 

the brunet finally walked over to his closet. he had to meet steve in half an hour, and ten of that would be the drive to the coffee shop where they were meeting. bucky looked at his clothes. his black skinny jeans were the obvious pants choice, but he was completely and utterly stuck on what shirt to wear. he wanted to impress steve. 

 

the catcher eventually decided on his black button up with white polka dots on it. pairing that with his leather jacket and black chucks, he felt confident with what he was wearing. he ran his hand through his hair, took one last final glance in the mirror, and he was out the door. 

___________________

 

steve was the first to arrive at the coffee shop. he was a few minutes early, but who cared? and it’s better to be early than late, in his opinion. he looked at his phone, seeing a message from bucky. the artist unlocked his phone, peering at the text. 

 

_ hey, i’ll be there in a few -  _ **_bucky_ **

 

he just replied with a thumbs up emoji, then slid his phone back into his pocket. steve immediately pulled his phone back out. 

 

_ what coffee do you want? on me. -  _ **_steve_ **

 

_ oh you don’t have to -  _ **_bucky_ **

 

_ dude, cmon, srsly -  _ **_steve_ **

 

_ just a black coffee with two sugars is fine, thanks :) -  _ **_bucky_ **

 

steve stood, pocketing his phone once more, and getting back in the line. he ordered the two coffees (he got another for himself, he really needs the caffeine), then waited for his name to be called back at the table he claimed. 

 

returning back to the table with the two coffees, he saw a motorcycle pull into one of the parking spaces, and  _ damn _ that was a cool ass bike. and of course, the person who got off the bike was none other than the person he was meeting up with: one james buchanan barnes. 

 

bucky entered the shop with his bag on his back and his helmet tucked under his arm. he looked around for a brief moment before his eyes met steve’s and he smiled.steve smiled back and offered a small wave. making his way over, bucky placed his helmet on the window sill next to his chair. 

 

“howdy, par’ner.” he greeted with a bit of country twang. 

 

“hey. cool bike, man, i totally dig that,” the artist smiled. “i really hope you weren’t texting me while driving it, though.”

 

bucky feigned hurt and held his hands to his chest. “steven, who do you think i am? i would never,” he dropped his hands. “nah, just at red lights, okay?” 

 

steve laughed. “good.” they fell into a silence. “so you wan’a show me what you have?”

 

the catcher blanked for a second. “oh- yeah.” he fumbled with his bag for a second, then presented steve with his paper. “here ya go. ’s not much, but it’s somethin’.” steve started reading the words written in front of him. 

 

“okay, this is…good.” he met bucky’s eyes.

 

“oh, be honest. you don’t gotta spare me, stevie.” steve smiled at the nickname. 

 

“it has some potential. there’s just a few things you should definitely cut.” he looked back to the paper.

 

bucky tilted his head. “like what?” 

  
“this line,” he pointed to the page. “you wrote, ‘ _ and, damn, number seven has such a nice ass.’”  _


	3. “tell me everything you look for in a guy”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little shorter cause i’m writing it at two in the morning and this just came to me.

_oh my fucking shit. he_ read  _that. i_ wrote  _that. what the fuck-_ “buck?” bucky’s head snapped up. he had completely forgotten steve was there. 

“huh?”

”you just like, left me there for a sec. you ‘lright?” 

“oh, yeah. i just  _cannot_ believe i wrote that. i’m so sorry.”

steve just laughed. “no, it’s alright. really funny. i just didn’t think the rumors were true.”

the two made eye contact. “what - uh. what rumors?”

”that the star catcher is gay.” bucky’s heart started beating irradically. 

“oh.” 

steve looked at bucky’s fallen face. he started rambling. “unless you’re not. i mean, you could be talking about a girl here - i’m so sorry, i just assumed-“ 

“no, no. you’re totally right. the rumors or whatever are true.” bucky stopped him. 

“oh, okay. cool.” steve sighed, relieved he hadn’t fucked everything up. 

“wait, are there people that think i’m straight?”

”a few, i think. yeah. i did for a bit.”

”what do i do that makes people think i’m straight so i can stop that immediately?” the catcher joked. steve laughed, and fuck, bucky would never get tired of that sound. 

“i guess, to be fair, i never formally came out. and i’ve never had a boyfriend, either.” he sipped his coffee and looked out the window. steve’s eyes stayed glued to the side of his face. then his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. 

“ _what?_ you’ve never had a boyfriend? dude, you’re like hot as fuck.” bucky choked on his coffee. nevrr in a million years did he think he would hear steve rogers say that. “you have to be lying?”

”sorry, but i’m not.” he recovered. “also, that would be something really lame to lie about.” steve narrowed his eyes at him. bucky looked back, an easy smirk forming. “have  _you_ ever had a boyfriend?” 

it was steve’s turn to glow red. “that’s not the point. i’ve had girlfriends.” bucky gave him a pointed look. “ _a_ girlfriend.” he paused. “i’m gonna help you find a boyfriend.” 

bucky choked for a second time. he obviously can’t drink his coffee anymore around steve. “w-what?”

”yeah! it’ll be fun!” steve was too happy about this. he was always happy to help his friends, why should this be any different? “and plus, i’m a master matchmaker. i got carol and val together.” 

bucky caved. the smile on steve’s face made it impossible to deny this. “alright, alright. fine, you can help me get a boyfriend.”

”yay.” steve cheered quietly. 

bucky just smiled. “i hate you.” 

steve rolled his eyes, but nevertheless continued smiling at his new friend. “okay. tell me everything you look for in a guy.” 


	4. "holy shit."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bucky's a chaotic gay and thor's a functioning one
> 
>  
> 
> also previously: 
> 
> steve: "okay. tell me everything you look for in a guy."

_ how did i get myself into this? _

 

“well,”  _ you.  _ bucky  wanted to say, but he knew he shouldn’t. “i like a guy that can draw. i love art.” 

 

steve smiled. “continue.” 

 

“a guy who’s maybe taller than me? and likes baseball. he’s gotta have a good taste in music, too - i love classic rock -” 

 

“no shit, so do i!” 

 

bucky flushed. “i didn’t take you as the classic rock type, rogers.”

 

“oh, i’m full of surprises.” he winked. bucky nearly died then and there. “i love all kinds of music. i’m actually in the music class at school.  the one where we write our own songs and all.”

 

“i nearly took that class.” bucky threw out. 

 

“be glad you didn’t. our final project is to write a  _ love song _ .” the blond rolled his eyes. 

 

buck frowned. “that doesn’t seem too hard.” 

 

“trust me, it is.” steve looked at him. “anyway, back to the conversation. ‘nything else you look for?” 

 

_ yeah. big, blond, named steve rogers.  _

 

“buck?”

 

“hm?” he looked at steve. “oh, nothing else really. do you want a refill?”

 

“nah, i’m good, thanks though.” steve glanced at the time. he’d told his dad he was going to be home ten minutes ago. “actually, i gotta go.” he stood, bucky copied. “i’ll see ya at school?” 

 

the brunet nodded. bucky didn't have time to react when steve pulled him into a quick hugged and planted a soft, quick kiss to his cheek. he waved when steve turned around at the door, and steve reciprocated the action. 

 

bucky sat back down and took a swig from his coffee cup. by now, it was lukewarm and kind of gross. he gathered his papers and placed them neatly in his bag, before walking into the spring air and to his bike. he pulled his helmet on and straddled the bike before starting it up and heading to thor’s. bucky and thor always hung out on saturdays. they usually started practicing baseball, then half an hour later they’re always in thor’s room talking about whatever. this saturday was no different. thor was tossing a baseball in the air while laying on his bed, as usual, and bucky was spinning in the desk chair. 

 

“so,” thor broke the comfortable silence. “how was your date with steve?” 

 

bucky groaned. “it wasn’t a date. he just helped me with my paper.” he stopped spinning. “and clearly i needed it because i wrote about how good of an ass number seven from that one school has.”

 

“oh! uh, what’s his name. frank castle?” 

 

“yes! that guy.” 

 

“too bad he has a boyfriend. i coulda totally hooked you two up.” the ball hit thor’s hand with a  _ thwap _ . 

 

“no shit really?” 

 

“yeah, that blind dude that’s always at their games.”

 

“damn.” silence engulfed them again. “steve said he’s gonna help me get a boyfriend.”

 

_ thunk.  _ “shit!” bucky whipped around. thor was sitting up, holding his eye. “the ball landed on my eye.” bucky held in a laugh. “he’s what?” 

 

“yeah. i dunno where it came from. told him i’d nev’r had a boyfriend an’ he flipped, sayin’ i was ‘hot as fuck’ if i remember right.” 

 

“ _ dude _ . he called you hot. that’s a win. what’d you tell him?”

 

“well, he asked what i look for in a guy and he’s clearly oblivious ‘cause i basically described 'im.” 

 

thor crossed his legs. “anything else you wanna tell me about that happened with steve?”

 

“uh, he had to leave pretty soon after that, and he hugged me bye and kissed my cheek, but no, nothing really.” bucky recalled. 

 

the pitcher’s eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his head. “think about what the fuck you just said, barnes. think real hard.”

 

“i don’ know what you’re talkin’ about odinson. i said he hugged me and kissed my cheek good bye-” bucky froze, finally letting it sink in. 

 

“buck?”

 

“holy shit,” he breathed. “dude.” he looked wide eyed at thor.

 

“yeah.” 

 

“ _ dude _ .”

 

“ _ yeah.” _

  
“ _ steve rogers fucking kissed my cheek.”  _ bucky’s heart started racing. “holy shit.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long to update. the updates will be sporadic so i'm sorry if some updates take longer than others. i'm hoping to include more thorbruce and to get to stevebucky soon. 
> 
> thank you for reading this!!!


	5. and it was in that moment steve rogers knew he was well and thoroughly fucked

walking into english on monday was a hard task for bucky. he didn’t want to face steve because he knew he would do something embarrassing. and well, he wasn’t wrong. 

“hey, buck.” steve waved as he walked passed him into the classroom. and bucky, being the completely chaotic gay that he is, went to wave back, but tripped over _his own foot_ and fell flat on his face. no joke, everyone went silent and just stared at him. “shit.” he mumbled to himself before he felt hands on his arms, pulling him up.

he met steve's eyes. "you alright, pal? ya kinda just dropped." 

bucky continued staring into steve's eyes before he realized he was asked a question. "wh-yeah. yeah, one hundred percent okay." he started dusting off his jeans so he had something else to focus on other than steve. 

"ya sure? you look a little startled there." steve shifted his head down to make eye contact again.

"i'm okay, steve. really." he looked back at him to further his point. he gave a small, embarrassed smile, then moved to his seat. their classmates were still staring at him, some laughing quietly to themselves. when the brunet sat down, he laid his head on his desk and covered it with his arm. he felt like he was going to cry. sure, he's done shit to embarrass himself before, but he's never embarrassed himself that bad, _and_ in front of steve. fury didn't even bother to ask bucky to lift his head during class. he knew if the kid had his head down, something happened and he needed the time. 

 ___________________________

steve kept stealing glances at bucky for the remainder of class. he said he was okay, but was he really? he didn't seem it considering he kept his head down the whole class. he decided to risk it and pull his phone out under his desk and shoot the boy a quick text. 

 _are you sure youre ok? -_ **_steve_ **

steve saw bucky shuffle to pull his phone out of his jeans without revealing too much of his face. when he successfully did and glanced at the screen, his face twisted in confusion. he lifted his head to look at steve and the blond quickly turned away.

_i told you i'm fine sbeve - **bucky**_

_steve* - **bucky**_

steve laughed slightly at the spelling mistake and glanced back to bucky to see him with a light smile on his face. steve looked back to his phone. 

_you can only call me sbeve now - **steve**_

_bold of you to assume i wasn't gonna do that - **bucky**_

steve locked his phone and tuned back into the lecture, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't grinning like a fool for the remainder of class. 

 ___________________________

 

bucky and steve texted throughout the rest of the day. and the next day. steve didn't know why, but he couldn't stop smiling whenever a new message would come in. and when it took bucky longer to answer, steve was constantly picking his phone up to check it, as if it wouldn't go off when bucky texted. during chemistry, bucky just stopped answering steve all together, and steve had no idea why he started to worry so much.  _did i say something wrong? did i do something? does he not want to talk to me anymore? i annoyed him, didn't i? fuck i'm so annoying._ he read and reread the things he said over and over again. he was overthinking this way too much. 

"dude, could you, like, help?" bruce startled steve out of his mind. 

"hm?" the blond looked at his friend.

"we kinda have to do this lab to get a grade on it. you can talk to your boyfriend later." that got steve's attention. 

"he-he's not-we. we're not dating, bruce. we hadn't even spoken to each other before last week." the artist sputtered out. 

"yeah,  _okay_." bruce laughed and turned back to the lab. steve just mumbled, ' _he's not my boyfriend.'_

 ___________________________

steve waited outside the school for bucky. they were going to go to the cafe to work on their papers. when he saw the head of long brown hair, his heart sped up.  _am i having a heart attack or something?_ he brushed it off and greeted his friend.

"hey, buck." 

"steve. you ready to go?" 

"yeah. could you, um, give me a ride though? my dad needed the car today." steve hoped he wasn't overstepping.

"'course, dude. jus' a warning, i ride fast." the shorter man smirked and started heading over to his motorcycle. steve completely forgot the other boy had a bike and  _not_ a car. well shit. 

steve followed, and gratefully accepted the helmet bucky offered to him. "thanks." 

"mhm. safety first. gotta protect that pretty little head o' yours." steve was glad bucky was focused on putting his own helmet on so he didn't see the blush creep up steve's neck.  _what the fuck is wrong with me today?_ the blond put his own helmet on, securing it with the belt under his chin. bucky straddled the bike, then motioned for steve to get on behind him. 

the artist froze for a second. "c'mon. i don' bite."  he reluctantly climbed on the bike behind bucky. when he was settled, he felt bucky reach back and grab his hands adn loop them around his waist. "you're gonna wanna hold on, though." he could hear the smirk in the other boy's voice, and it was in that moment steve rogers knew he was well and thoroughly fucked. 


	6. a simply drawn, yet gorgeous, lily layed etched into the page.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oop this took forever hi.

steve was holding onto bucky like his life depended on it - and it really did. the brunet wasn’t lying when he said he drove fast. his eyes were sealed shut and his head was pressed into the muscles in bucky’s back. it wasn’t a long drive, steve knew, but it was long enough for steve to fear for his life. 

well, he didn’t think it was a long drive until he opened his eyes briefly and watched the coffee shop pass by. when they stopped at a red light, steve spoke up. “hey, the, uh, coffee shop is back there.” 

bucky glanced back. “shit.” he looked forward and started moving when the light changed and turned around in an empty parking lot. he waited at the stop sign. “i’m actually a dumbass. how did i  _ miss _ it.” bucky knows why he missed it. he was too focused on having steve’s body pressed against his and he just. zoned out for a second. or two. 

they finally made it to the coffee shop. the pair walked in with their respective helmets tucked beneath their arms and entered the queue.

“i’m buyin’ this time.” bucky spoke up.

“i can get my own.” 

“you bought on saturday, it’s my turn, steve.”

“how gentleman-like.” steve jokingly rolled his eyes. 

bucky laughed. “only for you, steven.” 

“thank you, james.” steve felt his heartbeat quicken. there was really something wrong with him today. he couldn’t place this…  _ feeling _ he kept getting. 

“steve?” steve hummed in response. “what do ya want to drink?” 

“just coffee with cream and sugar.” he came back to himself. bucky was relaying the order to the barista, and steve couldn’t pull his eyes from the other boy’s side profile. 

they walked over to the same table they were at on saturday and sat their helmets on the windowsill. “you okay today, steve?”

“huh? oh, yeah.” 

“y’sure? you seem to have somethin’ on your mind.” bucky taps the table lightly. “we can do this another day if you want. i can give you a ride home.” his brow pulled together in sincere worry. 

“it’s nothin’. really.” he contemplated saying more. “i’ve just been getting this weird feeling lately, but it’s okay.” 

“ya wanna talk about it, or?” bucky left the question open. 

“nah, it’s fine. probably nothin’.”  _ or something really wrong _ . 

“okay.” bucky started talking about his new draft for his english essay, and steve was listening intensely. his head was rested on his hand, and his eyes were trained to bucky moving his hands animatedly while describing his new topic. 

with his hand that he wasn’t using to support his head, steve was absently doodling while listening to bucky speak. he managed a quick glance down and saw a flower. it was small, lightly drawn, and simple, but this beautiful thing still. he smiled. 

they spoke for hours in that small little coffee shop. about their essays, their plans that weekend, plans after school, everything. 

then it was dark, and bucky’s mom was expecting him home for dinner. apparently thor was already over, helping his mother cook. 

then bucky had to take steve home, which was the worst part of the night for both of them, even though the other didn’t know that. the ride was quiet, just the air rushing between them. steve had his eyes open the whole time, though. he watched the back of bucky’s body. he was mesmerized by this boy in a way that he had never been before, and it was starting to scare him. 

his grip around bucky’s waist tightened the slightest bit, hoping bucky wouldn’t notice. 

bucky did notice. he noticed the slightly tighter grasp. he noticed steve pressing his body closer, the helmet resting between his shoulder blades. he noticed everything steve did. he noticed everything about steve. 

when he pulled up to steve’s house, they stayed like that for a moment. bucky put the kickstand down and shut off the engine. he leaned back a little into steve. this felt intimate to steve. he didn’t know why, but it did. 

the blond slowly let go of bucky. he took the helmet off. “here. thanks for the ride.” 

“no biggie. and keep the helmet.”

“y’sure?”

“yeah. i hardly ever use it. and plus, you havin’ it gives me an excuse to be able to pick you up in the morning.” bucky regretted that as soon as it came out of his mouth. “i mean-”

“you wanna give me a ride tomorrow?” steve had a little hope in his voice. “my dad, uh, needs the car again.” 

“i’ll pick you up at seven.” bucky smiled. steve returned it. 

the blond went to turn away, then paused. “oh, here.” he handed bucky a folded piece of paper. 

“what’s this?” 

“for you.”

steve headed inside, and left a dumbfounded bucky sitting outside his house. bucky unfolded the piece of paper. 

a simply drawn, yet gorgeous, lily layed etched into the page. 


End file.
